Bronx Busts: The Worst Yankee Starting Pitching Acquisitions From This Century

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The New York Yankees have 27 World Series Championships. They made the greatest trade of all time when they bought Babe Ruth from the Red Sox. The Roger Maris trade wasn't so bad either. But fuck the Yankees. Frankie Montas has been shitting the bed since they traded for him (9.00 ERA in 3 starts), Jordan Montgomery has been lights out since leaving the Bronx and I want to make fun of some of the awful starting pitcher transactions they have made this century. 

Sonny Gray (2017-18)

Traded by Oakland A's for Dustin Fowler, James Kaprielian and Jorge Mateo

Sonny Gray was a good pitcher before going to the Yankees. Sonny Gray was good pitcher after being on the Yankees. I don't know exactly what went wrong here. It got so bad for him in New York that he was left off the playoff roster in 2018. His ERA with the Yankees is over a run higher than any other team he has pitched for. He later said that the Yankees tried to make him throw a slider too often but also that New York "wasn't a great fit for him".

I think too much gets made of a player's success or lack thereof depending on playing in a large or small market. The media presence seems more centralized (and also kinder) than every before. And as much I love baseball, I'm pretty sure Sonny Gray wasn't getting mobbed walked around Manhattan like Joe DiMaggio did 75 years ago. But seeing how much better Gray or even before him, Ed Whitson pitched before and after coming to New York, it makes you wonder if it does play a factor with some guys.

Koichi Kamoshida. Getty Images.

Kei Igawa (2007-08)

Purchased from Hanshin Tigers (Japan) for $26 million - Signed to 5 years/$20 million contract

Despite only being 27 years old when he came over to the Yankees, he was already in decline. He was never able to match the success he had when he was 22 and 23, even in following years while he was still in Japan. His time with the Yankees was a disaster and he ended up spending the heavy majority of that contract pitching in AAA for Scranton/Wikes-Barre. He was still getting paid the same though:

2007-11

MLB: 2-4, 6.66 ERA in 16 games

AAA: 36-25, 3.83 ERA in 107 games

Carl Pavano (2005-08)

Signed as a Free Agent - 4 years/$39.95 million

The best part of this contract was the nickname the New York Post gave him because he was hurt so much: American Idle. Pavano had a bizarre career. Initially drafted by the Red Sox, he was in the trade that sent Pedro Martinez to Boston. He didn't pull it all together until he ended up with the Marlins in 2002. They wound up winning the World Series that next year and Pavano was named to the All-Star team in 2004. He was also very durable for the Marlins making over 30 starts his two full seasons for them.

With the Yankees, it was a wild assortment of injuries:

2005 (made 17 starts): Shoulder injury

2006 (missed entire season): Bruised buttocks in spring training, broken ribs in car accident

2007 (made 2 starts): Elbow injury - wound up getting Tommy John Surgery

2008 (made 7 starts): TJS recovery, hip injury

The unusual part of Pavano's career is that once he left the Yankees, he instantly became durable again. He made 32 or more starts each of the next three seasons.

Randy Johnson (2005-06)

Traded from Arizona Diamondbacks for Javier Vasquez, Brad Halsey, Dioner Navarro and cash.

Coming off a season where he finished 2nd in NL Cy Young voting, Randy Johnson's time in the Bronx was underwhelming at best. Already 41 years old, he did manage to win 17 games each season with the Yankees but that doesn't tell the full story. His ERA with the Yankees was 4.37 and they got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs each year he was there. He was a big reason for the early exits going 0-1 with a 6.92 ERA.

Justin Lane. Shutterstock Images.

Jaret Wright (2005-06)

Signed as a Free Agent - 3 years/$21 million

Jaret Wright was called up the major leagues in late June 1997 at the age of 21. In four months, he became one of the best starting pitchers for Cleveland and wound up going 3-0 in the playoffs that year. He even pitched brilliantly in Game 7 of the World Series. It never quite got that good again for Wright. He began losing his control that next season and then his shoulder started to go leaving his once great stuff in the past.

He wound up in Atlanta in 2003 and pitching coach Leo Mazzone got a very good season out of him the next season. The Yankees ignored his poor pitching performance in the NLCS that year and signed him to a three year deal. It was instantly a mistake. In his first 20 innings, he gave up 20 runs. Then the shoulder issues cropped up again and before the trade was over, they were trading him to the Orioles who demanded the Yankees pay half his contract.

Kevin Brown (2004-05)

Traded by Los Angeles Dodgers for Jeff Weaver, Yhency Brazoban, a minor leaguer and cash.

Lots of people give the Dodgers shit for signing Brown to the 7 year/$105 million contract he signed after three great previous seasons with the Marlins and Padres. He didn't quite reach those heights with the Dodgers but he was very good for them. The problem was the team around him wasn't and they never made the playoffs in the time he was in L.A. His last season with the Dodgers, he made 32 starts and was 2nd in the NL in ERA.

That's the pitcher the Yankees thought they were getting in 2004. Brown just got old overnight and lost the ability to strike guys out. Despite that he was still a passable starting pitcher until he met the Red Sox in the ALCS that year. More than Dave Roberts himself, you could say Kevin Brown ended the Curse of the Bambino with a 21.60 ERA in two starts and only 3.1 IP that series.

The next year would be Brown's last in the big leagues after going 4-7 with a 6.50 ERA and missing more than half the season with back issues. He was later named in the Mitchell Report and it was speculated that his numerous temper tantrums (like breaking his non-pitching hand punching a clubhouse wall as a Yankee in 2004) was due to roid rage.

Esteban Loaiza (2004)

Traded by Chicago White Sox for Jose Contreras and cash.

The Yankees had lost patience in Cuban import Contreras who had gotten off to a tough start in 2004.The Yankees traded him to the White Sox for Loaiza, who was coming off his second straight All-Star appearance. Contreras would help the Pale Hose win the World Series the next season. Loaiza wasn't as successful. In fact, he was abysmal. He went 1-2 with an 8.50 ERA for the Yankees and by the end of the season, he had been banished to the bullpen. In his defense, he mostly pitched well in that postseason and only gave up one run. Unfortunately for him, it was this one. 

Amazingly Loaiza's post-playing days were even worse than his time with the Yankees. In 2018, San Diego police found 44 pounds of cocaine in a van parked in his home He later pled guilty to possession and intent to distribute and served three years in prison. He has since been deported to Mexico.

Jeff Weaver (2002-03)

Traded by Detroit Tigers as part of a 3-team deal where Yankees gave up Ted Lilly, John-Ford Griffin and a minor leaguer.

The older brother of Jered Weaver, Jeff was a wildly inconsistent pitcher his whole career. Except his time with the Yankees when he was just consistently lousy. He wound up having a 5.35 ERA in his year and half in pinstripes. To make matters worse, the Yankees gave up Ted Lilly in the trade. Lilly was never a great pitcher but he was more successful than Weaver was after the trade was made. Lilly wound up making two All-Star games and won 130 games in his career.

The Yankees never seemed to have confidence in Weaver and that reached a boiling point in the 2003 World Series. He did make the playoff roster but the Yankees seemed to be hiding him in the bullpen until Game 4 which wound up going 12 innings and they needed to use Weaver. He wound up giving up a walk off home run to Alex Gonzalez. The Yankees didn't win another game that World Series. 

It's been a tough month for Yankee fans but J.P. Sears is pitching today for the A's if they want to see some good pitching. Since getting traded by the Yankees for Frankie Montas, Sears has an ERA of 1.74. I have a feeling Montas is going to be on this list very, very soon.